How to deal with disasters such as World War, earthquakes, etc. ? (Part 3)

• The adverse times that Sanatan has been warning about are at our doorstep ! Their impact is going to be more horrific !
• Due to the increasing unrighteous conduct in society, increase in social sin, the destiny of the society becomes difficult !

The adverse times that Sanatan has been warning about for some years now are at our doorstep ! The Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world over the past year, is but a small glimpse of the coming adverse times. The impact of the actual disasters is going to be many times more horrific and inhumane. It will be in different forms – man-made and natural. We will look at some of these problems in this series.

This series will give an overview of what you can do to protect yourself and your family during these adverse times. The purpose of this series is to alert and help prepare you.

We will have to assume that the use of nuclear weapons in the World War 3 is inevitable. Here we explain – What is a biological weapon, the nature of such attacks, some preventive measures, etc.

1. What is a ‘biological weapon’ ?

The microbes or viruses used for spreading a disease to humans, animals, and crops are called ‘biological weapons’. Bacteria and viruses are used as ‘biological weapons’ in contagious diseases of cattle (anthrax), glanders, alternate day fever (brucellosis), cholera, plague, melioidosis, etc.

2. The nature of attacks through biological weapons

A. Using animals, birds, humans, air, etc. to attack through biological weapons : In the event of an attack through a biological weapon, the viruses of the aforementioned diseases such as Cholera are released into the enemy country through animals, birds, humans, air, etc. Infection of the disease leads to loss of life, property, etc. in the enemy country.

B. It is difficult to detect an attack through biological weapons : These attacks are not like the usual bomb, missile or airstrikes. Therefore, it is difficult for the general public to realise that they have been attacked through biological weapons. If there is a sudden outbreak of a disease somewhere in the country or everywhere, it may be due to the attack by an enemy country.

C. It can be difficult to identify the enemy country attacking through biological weapons : It is also difficult to reveal that the attack by biological weapons was carried out by an enemy country. It is alleged that the corona virus was developed by China as a biological weapon and spread to enemy countries.

D. Unable to understand what to do about biological weapon attacks without Government’s announcement : Attacks through biological weapons are mostly contagious. It is difficult to understand what care should be taken, unless the Government announces the biological attack.

E. Severe damage caused by contagious diseases spread without biological weapons : Although no enemy has attacked with biological weapons and only contagious diseases have been transmitted, there is a great loss of life and property. Plague has claimed the lives of crores of people in the world. Cholera, malaria, influenza, chickenpox, whooping cough, tuberculosis, leprosy, are some of the contagious diseases. Covid-19 (Corona virus) is a recent example of this. As of 12th February 2021, over 10,82,98,000 people worldwide were infected with corona virus and of these, 23,78,873 died.

F. Some preventive measures to protect against contagious diseases spread through biological weapons or other means : Preventive measures such as use of antibiotics, developing vaccines, etc. are taken after determining the virus used for the attack. Mostly, heavy loss of life and property takes place by the time the attack is identified as a biological attack. Therefore, as soon as it is noticed that the extent of disease is increasing, measures to protect from contagious diseases are used excessively. A number of measures were planned in the context of the pandemic caused by the corona virus. Whether the attack is caused through a biological weapon or a contagious disease, these measures will be a guide to protect against them.

3. Measures required to avoid getting infected with a virus such as coronavirus

A. Symptoms of Covid infection : When infected with the coronavirus, it spreads into the lungs. Hence, the following symptoms appear.

1. Fever, 2. Dry cough, 3. Sore throat, 4. Problems with breathing, as well as shortness of breath and fatigue, 5. Symptoms such as headache, muscle aches.

B. General care required before the symptoms of covid appear

B1. Care required while at home

A. Nails should be trimmed regularly

B. Any injury should be covered

C. Keep your home and surroundings clean

D. Washing the hands properly :

1. Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth without washing your hands with soap.

2. Before cooking, while cooking and after cooking, before eating, after using the washroom and if there is dust on the hands, wash them with soap under running tap water or use a hand sanitizer which contains alcohol.

3. Hands should be washed after contact with animals, animal food or animal faeces, after shaking hands, as well as after coughing or sneezing, and after patient care.

E. When coughing or sneezing, keep a tissue paper, handkerchief or sleeve on the face. Dispose off the used tissue paper and close the bin immediately.

F. If anyone falls ill at home, seek immediate medical attention at a local health centre. In case of cold or flu, seek the advice of a doctor immediately.

G. Drink lukewarm water at regular intervals throughout the day. Care should be taken to ensure that the mouth does not become dry.

H. Avoid cold drinks and foods; for example, drinking syrup, ice cream, lassi, etc.

I. Woollen clothes such as sweaters, mufflers, etc. should be kept in the sun for some time every day. Also, stand in the sun for some time every day.

B2. Care required outdoors

B2 A. Use an antiseptic mask on the face : Coronavirus enters the body through the mouth and nose. Therefore, the virus should not be allowed to come in contact with these parts of the body. Use an antiseptic mask. The following care should be taken while using the mask.

1. The mask should cover the nose, mouth, and chin completely.

2. When wearing or removing a mask, hold it by the strings from behind. The front portion of the mask should not be touched while applying or removing it.

3. After use, do not throw the mask anywhere else.

4. The masks should be disinfected by immersing them in 5% bleach or 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and then be burned or buried deep in the soil.

5. If you wish to go to crowded places, wear a surgical mask.

B2 B. Maintaining social distance : Keeping a distance of at least 1-2 metres between people to prevent the spread of contagious diseases is called ‘social distancing’. World Health Organization also calls it ‘physical distancing’. The following should also be done to maintain social distance :

1. Avoid handshakes

2. Places where large number of people gather, – Commercial complexes, cinemas, schools, Government offices, etc. – are told by the Government to remain closed to avoid large gatherings.

B2 C. Avoid touching objects in public places, buildings, etc. : The coronavirus lifespan on objects made of steel, glass, etc. ranges from 2 hours to a few days. Therefore, after visiting hospitals, shops, commercial complexes, elevators, etc., it is advisable to avoid touching objects, walls, grills, etc.

B2 D. Wash the hands with soap or use a hand sanitizer : If you have to stay outdoors for longer periods, wash your hands with soap from time to time or use a hand sanitizer. A hand sanitizer should be used when entering and exiting a mall, shop or store where it is unavoidable for you to touch certain objects. If soap or hand sanitizer is not available, washing the hands with a mixture of lemon juice and water can also protect against diseases, say experts.

B3. Precautions in case of travel by a vehicle due to some important reason : Contact while travelling increases the risk of contagious diseases. Hence, everyone should avoid travelling during a pandemic. If you have to travel for some necessary work, take the following precautions.

1. Travel by your own vehicle or one that has least number of people.

2. Avoid travelling by air-conditioned bus or train. Avoid using air-conditioning in your own vehicle.

3. When travelling by train or bus, if you feel that there is a person next to you with symptoms of cold, cough or fever, you should stay more than 1 metre away from him or take another mode of travel if possible; for example, take another bus.

4. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap before touching your face.

5. If possible, use soap or a hand sanitizer to wash your hands during the journey.

B4. Care required with regard to the clothes used while travelling

A. Infectious germs can live on clothes used during travel for up to 12 hours. This means that when you come home from a trip, you should go straight to the bathroom without roaming with those clothes on.

B. Wash your face with soap and water or take a hot bath if possible.

C. If you want to reuse travel clothes without washing them, put them on a hanger and keep them separately in such a way that they are not touched by other items or washed clothes. If you do touch clothing used during travel, wash your hands immediately. If possible, keep these clothes in the sun.

D. Wear washed clothes that you wear at home without touching the travel clothes.

E. If you want to wash the clothes used during travel, wash them as usual and dry them in the sun.

B5. Care required when returning home

A. Remove footwear and keep outside the house.

B. External materials should be quarantined and used after at least 24 hours.

C. The mask and the clothes on the body should be treated in the same way as after the journey.

D. Since coronavirus cannot withstand temperat-ures above 38 degrees Celsius, bathe with hot water.

E. If some of the virus have entered the respiratory tract, they should also be destroyed by inhaling steam.

B6. Measures based on Ayurveda to increase body immunity

B6 A. Measures suggested by the Ministry of Health

1. Common measures for maintaining good health

A. The routine should include at least 30 minutes of yoga, pranayam and meditation.

B. Use turmeric, cumin, coriander and garlic in daily meals.

2. Measures to boost body immunity

A. Consume one teaspoon of Chyavanprash every morning. People who have diabetes should use sugar-free Chyavanprash.

B. Drink herbal tea once or twice a day, as well as a decoction made with basil, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger and raisins. Add jaggery and/or lemon juice to taste if required.

C. Add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder in 150 ml. of hot milk and drink it once or twice a day.

B6 B. Ayurvedic treatment prescribed by Dr Suvinay Damle, Kudal, District Sindhudurg.

1. Incense therapy

A. Dhoop should be lit in the house at sunrise and sunset.

B. If dhoop is not available, light incense using neem leaves, turmeric powder, camphor, guggul, clove, cardamom peel, onion-garlic peel, chilli stalk, ghee, akshata, as well as cowdung and charcoal.

2. Casting off the evil-eye : Evil-eye on children and the elderly should be cast off in the evening.

3. Disinfectant spray : Gomutra (Urine of a cow of Indian breed) should be sprayed in the house and courtyard. If gomutra is not available, cowdung should be dissolved in water and smeared everywhere. Also, after boiling herbs such as neem, karanj, turmeric, Basil etc. in water, the water carrying their extract should be sprayed around the house. (The water turns dark when the extract enters the water.)

4. Isolation : Ayurveda also says that diseases are spread by contact.

Meaning of a shloka : Contagious diseases such as skin disorders, fever, tuberculosis, cataract, etc. are transmitted from one to the other when regularly working together, touching the body, breathing the air exhaled by someone else, eating together, sharing a seat, sleeping on the same bed, wearing other person’s clothes, smelling flowers smelled by others, applying sandalwood paste used by others, etc.

Prevention is the key to halting contagious diseases. Isolation prevents infection.

5. Consuming a concoction that boosts the body’s immunity : Add 5-6 Tulsi (Basil) blossoms (not Tulsi powder), 4 black pepper and 4 cloves in 6 cups of water and boil till 2 cups of water remain. Filter it and put it in a thermos. Sip this 3-4 times a day.

B6 C. Other treatments according to Ayurveda

1. Holding oil in the mouth and spitting it out : Take one tablespoon of sesame or coconut oil in the mouth; hold it in your mouth for 2 to 3 minutes and rinse the mouth. Then spit it out and rinse the mouth with plain lukewarm water. Do this 1-2 times a day.

2. Nasal : Apply ghee or oil in the nostrils 2-3 times a day.

3. Apply oil on the body: Apply oil on the body every morning before bathing.

4. Measures if you have dry cough or sore throat

A. Inhale the steam of hot water with fresh mint leaves or ova once a day.

B. If you have a cough or a sore throat, mix half a teaspoon of clove powder with jaggery or 1 teaspoon of honey. In case of dry cough, lick 1 drop.
The above remedies provide relief from a simple dry cough or sore throat. However, if these symptoms persist, seek medical advice.

Guidelines on how many days to take home remedies : Generally, any medicine taken once shows its good or bad effect within 24 hours. But if it is difficult to notice this subtle effect in one day, then the medicine should be continued for 3 days. However, if you still do not notice anything, the medicine should be continued for a maximum of 7 days. If there is no benefit even after 7 days of treatment or if it is noticed that the medicine is having side effects, the medicine should be discontinued, and the guidance of a doctor should be sought. – Dr Meghraj Paradkar, Sanatan Ashram, Ramnathi, Goa. (24.6.2017)

5. Excretion : Those who do not have any problem should take 4 teaspoons of castor oil at 4 a.m. for 4 days. This will cause heavy diarrhoea 3-4 times and clear the stomach. Stomach stickiness and Ama will disappear and will make the person very hungry.

6. Others : Get vomiting, constipation and haemorrhage therapies performed by a doctor who performs Panchakarma after the outbreak of virus.
(Reference : Daily ‘Sanatan Prabhat’, 26.4.2020)

3B 7. Preventive spiritual remedies for contagious diseases : Due to the increasing unrighteous conduct in society (immorality, rapes, fickle behaviour, murders, etc.), increase in social sin, the destiny of the society becomes difficult. This leads to catastrophes such as heavy rains, droughts, earthquakes, wars, contagious diseases, etc. on the earth or the concerned society, says a Scripture. We will now see if one of these disasters spreads contagious disease, how can it be prevented at the spiritual level.

To get rid of the spiritual causes in the spread of contagious diseases, a combination of medication and spiritual remedies is required. Spiritual remedies are the measures taken to alleviate the suffering caused by subtle obstacles. Spiritual remedies include chanting mantras, reciting stotras, chanting the Names of Deities, etc. The corona pandemic, a contagious disease, continues and lakhs of people have died. Some spiritual remedies for this are given ahead.

3B 7A. Mantra on contagious diseases : To reduce the effects of contagious diseases, Saints and practitioners of mantras have devised the following mantras. Before chanting all these mantras, pray as follows : ‘O Sun Deity, I pray at your Holy feet – let the worms that afflict me and the poison that has spread in me be destroyed by Your soft rays. Let my body stay healthy so that I am able to perform good spiritual practice’. The following chants should be heard 21 times with bhav (Spiritual emotion) in the morning, afternoon and evening. These three mantras are available on an Android App ‘Sanatan Chaitanyavani’.

1. Virus killer mantra recited by Sanatan’s Paratpar Guru Parashram Pande Maharaj

A. Atrivada vaha krimayo hanmi kannavajmad agnivat I Agastasyasya Brahmana san pinshyamhan krimin I – Atharvaveda, 2.32.3

Meaning : O’ worms (micro-organisms that cause disease) ! Like Atri, I destroy you, worms in Kanva’s, Jamadagni’s way; I bray and bruise the creeping things to pieces with Agastya’s spell.

B. Hataso asya veshaso hatasaha pariveshasaha I Atho he kshullakaha iv sarve te krimayo hataha I

– Atharvaveda, 2.32.5

Meaning : Slain are its neighbors, slain its further neighbors, also those that are petty, as it were – all the remaining worms in seed form are slain too.
2. Mantra recited by Mantra-healer Dr Mohan Phadke of Pune, Maharashtra.

Om bhur bhuvah svaha I Tat savitur varenyam I Bhargo devasya dhimahi I Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat I

– Rigveda 3.62.10

Meaning : We meditate on the radiance of the glorious Deity Savita (Sun). Let that radiance inspire our intellect.
This Gayatrimantra, which has ‘Omkar’ six times, can be used to boost immunity during epidemics and can be useful for all respiratory ailments.

3B 7B. Reciting stotras : To protect the whole body from diseases during adverse times, one should listen to ‘Chandikavach (Devikavach)’ every morning and ‘Baglamukhi Digbandhan stotra’ in the evening. These stotras are available on ‘Sanatan Chaitanyavani’ Android App.

3B 7C. Chanting told by Sanatan’s Sadguru (Dr) Mukul Gadgil for the Covid pandemic : At the time of the Covid pandemic, Sanatan’s Sadguru (Dr) Mukul Gadgil meditated on the need to increase His spiritual strength along with medical advice and treatment to build His own immunity against the coronavirus, and thus found the following chant which was effective according to the three Divine principles suggested by God.

1. Chant : Shri Durgadevyai Namaha | – Shri Durgadevyai Namaha | – Shri Durgadevyai Namaha | – Shri Gurudev Datta | – Shri Durgadevyai Namaha| – Shri Durgadevyai Namaha | – Shri Durgadevyai Namaha| – Om Namaha Shivaya | (This chant is available on ‘Sanatan Chaitanyavani’ Android App.)

2. Prayer : While chanting, pray to God – ‘May my body’s immunity against the coronavirus be enhanced and may I gain spiritual strength’.

3. Duration : This chanting should be done 108 times (or 1 hour) daily to prevent coronavirus infection. If a person is infected with the coronavirus, he should chant this for 2 to 4 hours daily, depending on the mild to severe suffering he has. It is beneficial to chant for 21 days for complete eradication of Coronavirus.

3B 7D. Importance of Yoga and meditation in fighting the Coronavirus : The Harvard Medical School in USA has published a health calendar on the Covid pandemic. It states that breathing must be controlled to fight the pandemic. Yoga and meditation are helpful for this. After the publication of this calendar, the ban on Yogasanas in schools in Alabama, USA, which had been going on for the past 27 years, was lifted. (Reference : Daily ‘Sanatan Prabhat’, 17.3.2020)

3B 8. Regular practice of Hindu culture is necessary to prevent the spread of diseases like Covid ! – Mr Ramesh Shinde, National Spokesperson, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

A. The world recognises the importance of joining the palms and saying ‘Namaste’ : Many countries were affected by the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The practice of saying ‘Namaste’ has become commonplace in many Western countries after it was noticed that handshakes, hugs and kisses are also contributing to this infection. Many leaders including Prince Charles of England and Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa, former President of US Donald Trump, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar started practicing Namaste. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for ‘Practice of Indian methods to protect from the Coronavirus’. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi also appealed to the world to adopt Namaste practice. From this, it is clear that behaving as per the Hindu culture has become a necessity of the times.

B. Measures regarding epidemics are given in the ‘Charak Samhita’ of Hindus : This not only mentions ‘Janapadodhvans’ i.e. ‘Epidemic’, but also gives measures related to epidemics. It also outlines daily acts to prevent epidemics. These apply precisely to contagious diseases today. Hindu culture has taught us many things such as not to eat anyone else’s food, washing the face, hands and feet before entering the house when coming from outside.

C. Since the practices in the Dharma of Hindus is scientific in a way, become healthy and happy by following it ! : Practicing Dharma according to Hindu culture – Showing dhoop, burning incense-stick, lighting a ghee lamp, worshiping the Tulsi-vrindavan, cultivating land with Gomaya, performing camphor Arati, Agnihotra, etc. purify the atmosphere as well as the premises. Contagious diseases are rarely transmitted in such premises. It has been proved that the practices in the Dharma of Hindus are beneficial, and are scientifically correct too. If we follow the religious practices of our forefathers, we will definitely be able to live a healthy and happy life.

4. Dos and Don’ts in contagious diseases

A. Everyone should stay at home as much as possible after realising the outbreak of a contagious disease in society.

B. Care should be taken while eating leafy vegetables and food. Don’t eat stale food.

C. If the primary symptoms of a common infection such as fever, cough or difficulty in breathing are noticed, stay in one room (home quarantine). Care should be taken that utensils, handkerchiefs, clothes, etc. used by you do not come in contact with the family.

D. If you notice an increase in fever, cough, or difficulty in breathing, seek medical advice immediately. If the symptoms are severe, report them immediately to the nearest Government hospital and seek treatment in a Government-run isolation ward (quarantine centre).

(For more, visit : www.sanatan.org/en/natural-disasters-and-survival-guide)

(Disclaimer : Sanatan Sanstha advises all readers to adhere to all local and national directives to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in your region. Sanatan Sanstha recommends the continuation of conventional medical treatment as advised by medical authorities in your region. Spiritual remedies given in this article are not a substitute for conventional medical treatment or any preventive measures to arrest the spread of coronavirus. Readers are advised to take up any spiritual healing remedies at their own discretion.)